For your consideration.
Wine and Beer were not only popular drinks, their value was more than simply entertainment. Alcohol was used to 'purify' water, as it killed parasites in the water. Thus, wine and water were mixed, and often drank with meals.
Slightly 'over-ripe' meat had unpleasant flavors which are easily covered by cooking with wine.
Wine tastes good, but also stores for years; whereas grape juice has a relatively short shelflife.
Given the level of medicine and insectacides, fleas and mange were the order of the day, and fleas in bedding were just a fact of life. A slight buzz will help you sleep through the irritating bites.
I think the ancients used wine as more of a staple than we do today; by virtue of it's medicinal value, rather than the alcoholic effects. The buzz and hangover were just probably an added bonus to the benefits it gave. Again, IMHO.
I think that is an apt overview.
I've read that ancient human mothers often nursed their children up to age five. The rancid food would often kill the children.
Like cheese, taking a consumable that only lasts for days and converting it into one that lasts for years is just common sense.
What get me is that sometimes I get the feeling that modern day archies are shocked when they find that the ancients practiced common sense. I guess it's an elitist kind of thing. (Common sense was invented in the 1960's ya know.)
I'm gonna remember that!